Week 7

Hey y'all! This week was sure a good and busy one! We did about 7 hours of tracting this week! I actually really enjoy tracting because you get to meet the weirdest people! (: 

So along with that we went to Monroe to have a specialized training with President Olson. Monroe is about 2 hours away in Louisiana, so that was a good time and took up most of our day. But we were able to learn a lot and laugh so much on the way home! We have a really small district, I don't know if I told y'all that, but there are only 4 of us. 2 Elders and 2 Sisters, so the ride home was a fun time because we get to know each other and just have a swell time. 

On Saturday we went to an outdoor expo! It was really sweet! And it was a great place to be able to AI and tract! We met a lot of awesome people and were able to get some name and numbers but the only struggle was that all but 1 were not in our area, so we get to pass them down to the other missionaries in our zone. Those lucky fruitcakes! But it was still fun and a good time! We also got to eat some real good BBQ. I love southern cooking!  Oh I also got a cool pen for free! We were watching these guys hand make pens and just talking with them while they made it and I got to choose things with the pen and then they gave it to me for watching the whole time and just talking with them! And helping them clean up! So that was sweet! 

Also while we were at the expo there was this insane storm! Like flash flooding and the storm almost broke one of the doors on the building. It was so intense that Sister Noyes's shed in her back yard flew over her house and landed in the middle of the street! and cars and windows were bent and broken from things flying! So insane! And So cool! We met a lot more people being trapped inside watching the storm haha! 

On Sunday we had stake conference and they were able to webcast it over to us so we wouldn't have to drive to Monroe so many times this month which is a real blessing! But it was really good! They talked a lot about keeping the Sabbath Holy and also about becoming like a child- They even had 5 primary kids bear their testimonies! It was a very cool and spiritual conference. They last thing they really talked a lot about was Temples and how the blessings of a temple can be a shield. They will protect you. And that was just so cool to hear! The temples are such a blessing in our lives! 

I love you all! I hope you have a blessed week!

-Sister DeCamp

Week 6

This week was a busy one for us! We went out tracting a lot and it paid off! We were able to teach over 8 lessons this week! (That is a ton for El Dorado) And we were able to get 2 less actives to Young Womens And one of them to church. We also were able to get another one of them to commit to come back to church! YES!!! The work is going good here and El Dorado is the promised land! 

Yesterday we went on exchanges. I was FREAKING OUT! But it went so good! I went with Sister Marble and Sister Abril went with Sister Mitchell. Together we tracted for 5 hours! And Sister Marble and I were able to find a new investigator! She is really kind! She has met with Elders before and so she knew a little bit about our church. And she invited us to come back this week!! SCORE! We also had a ward breakfast and some of our less-active families went to that and made some friends so we are hoping that since they made friends they will start coming more often to activities and church!!

Oh on Sunday we were able to go tracting in an area we hadnt ever really been to and we got to teach a girl named machelle and the spirit was so strong there! I extended my first baptism invitation and the she said YES! I was so excited for her! We are going to start meeting with her every Sunday now and then hopefully twice a week as she progresses more. 

Miracles happen when you are obedient and show the Lord your diligence by tracting! 

One last cool story! So we went to this place in our area call Junction City- population 752 people. There was nothing there... but we had a referral there.. she wasn't answering our calls so we prayed and both felt like we should still go.. so we go and there is one gas station in town so we stop there to get lunch and we are talking to the girl at the register and ask if she knows who we are looking for. She does and she tells us that she isn't living here right now. So we then decided that we would go and see one of our less actives.... well his address exists but his house does not. So we went to the one right next to it thinking maybe that could be his house. Well we ended up meeting his sister and when she saw we were missionaries she gave us a big hug and told us that we find her everywhere she goes. I laughed and joked that maybe it was a sign. She said that she was on her way out but we could come back another time- she was walking to the store. We said alright and started to leave. When  we got to the corner I felt like we should go walk with her and so we did. We started talking to her about what she knew about us because people usually don't just hug missionaries in the south- that NEVER happens. Come to find out she has read the Book of Mormon and her dad was a member. But she wasn't and it was her brother that we were looking for- he passed away about 2 years ago... but we were able to teach her about the restoration and answer a lot of her questions! We also gave her the challenge to go home and read from the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true and when she got her answer to call us. She called us the other night to let us know that she hadn't done it yet but was planning on doing it that night.! So we are looking forward to her call now ! And funny story since we went walking with her, I was able to walk back and forth between Arkansas and Louisiana! Pretty cool!    

-Sister DeCamp

Week 5

Well the rain stopped and the heat came back. It has been HOT here the past week! And to make it hotter we don't have our car, so we are walking or biking everywhere. Man I am sore from that! El Dorado is all hills! And since it's so hot nobody is every really outside on the streets. But it makes things entertaining that's for sure! 

This week since we were on our bikes or on foot we ended up doing a lot of service! It's really amazing to see what a small act from you can do for someone else. Even just making cookies for ward members has made a difference or asking if there is anything we can do for someone. Service is a great tool!

Well this week since we were on bike and foot we didn't get a ton of tracting done because our area is a ways a way from our apartment. But we were able to see a few miracles! 

1. Bill and Kathy- so Bill and Kathy are investigators that the missionaries were teaching before I got here. Well they love their tea and coffee. So when i met them we were teaching about the Word of Wisdom and we were really nervous about this. Well we told them and she looks at us and her glass of tea that she just finished and says well i guess that was my last glass of tea. WOW! We were so excited and shocked! And this week we are talking about tithing and setting them with a baptism date! So hopefully they will feel like they are ready because just from that experience i would say they are!

2. Sissy and Tommy- Well Tommy isn't super interested in hearing our message but he likes us being around because we "lit a spark in him" the first time we met with them. So we continue to come back. This week was awesome because when we went Tommy wasn't there and Sissy was having a really rough week. So we were able to share our testimonies with her about how we can be happy. And she said she could feel that she was happier just being around us. So we continued to talk to her about her bad week and she set us up perfectly to talk about the Plan of Salvation. So we asked her if she would want to go get ice cream with us today and we could talk a little bit and she said YES! So after emailing we are going out with her and going to try and teach her a little bit! Im so excited!

3. Like I said we didn't get a lot of tracting done this week because we are so far away from our area.  But on Saturday (kind of a rough day) we were able to go tracting. And we also go turned away from almost everyone we met. But! The last door we knocked on a lady opened the door, and asked what we were doing. We told her we were out sharing a message about Christ that could help build families and help us be happier and closer to Christ and we were wondering if she wanted to hear it. She let us in and we started talking to her just a little bit. We shared the restoration and told her that the Book of Mormon could help bring her happiness and answers to lifes questions. She asked if she could have a copy of it and asked when we would be coming back! So cool and it was just that little boost that we both needed. 

Things are going to happen in this area! And we couldn't be more stoked to be the ones to help make a change! Hope y'all have a happy week and keep the south in your prayers! Because even though it's not raining there are still a lot of people in Louisiana that lost everything that they have! 

Love you!

-Sister DeCamp

Week 4

So contrary to the title of this email I am not in a super flooding area. I'm in El Dorado Arkansas...But it does rain every day here and my stake is in the flood zone. The only flooding going on here is just the grass and a little bit on the roads. Now my stake is a different story. Most of my stake is in Louisiana and a lot of people have lost their homes. But the further south you go the worse it is getting. Next week people from up here are going to head down and see what they can do to help but I don't think we will get to go because that's like a 6 hour drive for us and a lot of miles on the car. So my area is really small. The town is smaller than Vernal and the ward has maybe 40 people when everyone goes. It is a whole different life down here. Because my area is so small we are on a car share so every other week we get a car and the other week we are either walking or riding our bikes. so today after emails I get to go pick out a bike. Pretty exciting stuff. 

On Monday we flew into Jackson Mississippi and had dinner with President Olsen and his wife and then we slept at the mission home. On Tuesday we had to wake up early, eat , email, and head to T-point. Since our mission covers so much area you only go to whatever T-point they tell you and there you figure out where you are getting transferred too. I found out I was going all the way to Arkansas. The only city in the state that our mission actually has open too. So I loaded in a Van and headed to Louisiana which was 2 hours away. Once we got there at the T-point there, I met my companion Sister Abril. (Its pronounced sister uhh-bril.)  She is really nice. She's been out for a year next week actually. we get along super swell! She's really positive and she's really funny so that makes tracting a lot more fun.  - Well from T-point we loaded in the car and drove 2 more hours to El Dorado... It's a very interesting place with lots of churches and people you have to listen really hard to understand. 

My first day here we went shopping, unpacked, and then we went out tracting. I was so nervous! And I have never got so many doors slammed in my face before. Well that's okay because it was still actually pretty funny. We now go out tracting every day and that's been pretty nice. You meet some WEIRD people. But we have actually had a lot more progress being made in this area according to sister Abril. We taught about 7 lessons in 2 days and sometimes they wouldn't even get that many in a week? Well we taught this lady names Pam. Now Pam is one of the sweetest ladies I have met. She welcomed us in and was making brownies and she claimed they were the best brownies in the world. So obviously we had to try them. Well they were pretty good but I've been spoiled with good bakers in the family so they weren't the best that I had ever had. Well she used to be a Methodist Preacher for like 20 years. Then one day she got really sick and decided to retire. And she started thinking that there was more out there and that God had something else that he had planned for her- then she met us! And so far the lessons have been going awesome! And she has been keeping her commitments!    Then on Saturday we were out tracting and we saw this house that had these really cool chairs in front of it so we went there. Out came a man named Tommy who looked really scary. We told him who we were and why we were there, turns out he was going to be a preacher (like everyone else here) but something fell through and that never happened so he started to try and bible bash with us. I just sat there and agreed with most of his beliefs which kind of took him for a loop. Then His wife Sissy came out. She was so nice. She LOVES us. Well as Tommy is talking to us not really with us she starts talking to me and asking questions. She was super interested. But Tommy wasn't going to have any of that. Then I said something, don't even remember what, and it shut him up for a minute and Sissy laughed so hard. Well as we started having a conversation about God an families we found out that they had just lost their baby 3 days before we had met them. They were so heart broken and lost. But weren't ready for out message so we just told them that God was mindful of them and that they were loved and that's why we have families- so when hard things happened to us we had our support system to fall back on. Then we asked if we could leave them with a prayer. And they actually let us! God softened Tommy's heart just enough. When we prayed with them the spirit was so strong. And I know that as we continue to visit them and pray for them their hearts will be softened enough to hear our message! 

That's pretty much all the cool things that has happened. But we are making progress slowly but surely! 

PS. My new address is 301 Moorewood Rd. #404  El Dorado, AR 71730 

i would super love some letters!!

-Sister DeCamp

Week 3

Hey everyone! 

Well I have made it safely to Mississippi! My mission president is really nice and so is his wife! They have already been a great help since arriving! When we arrived there were 18 new missionaries- the second biggest group that they have ever gotten since being here! We had the best dinner last night probably because it was homemade from all the older sisters serving! We also had our first interviews and got to know everyone a little bit better. There were the sister training leaders, the zone leaders, the APs, and then the Misssion President and his wife. So there were a lot of people to meet. But so far so good! One of our sister training leaders actually is leaving tomorrow. 

This morning we were assigned our first areas. Well my area is about 4 hours away. I'll be in Arkansas in a town called El Darado in the Louisiana Monroe Stake!  So thats pretty exciting I think! I'm excited to meet my trainer and to really start this new adventure! I can't for sure remember her name because it was just told to me and then moved on to the next sister so she could find out where she is going and what her trainers name would be, so i'll let you know next week what her name is and a little bit about her! (:

Well until next week! I love you all!!

-Sister DeCamp

Week 2

WOW WOW WOW!!

Can you believe that this is my last week in the MTC! Isn't it crazy! I'm so stoked to leave though and be in the field! We got out flight plans on Friday and lucky me, I get to leave at 3:30 in the morning! I don't think that I'm going to be sleeping very much on Sunday night! 

Something funny that happened on Thursday was that there were 3 police here! We all were wondering what was going on... turns out a pipe broke and that required 3 police cars to show up! HAHA! 

Feeling like rebels!

I also saw Jade while I was studying one morning! She snuck up behind me- which I mean isn't really hard to do because of where we sit and it's so quiet. So that was really cool though! It made me really happy to see someone I knew! I was also able to see Monica which was really fun!!

The Elders in my district and my favorite place on earth!

Yesterday was the most spiritual day I have had in the MTC! Elder Andersen came and spoke to us! It was so cool and it was a surprise! Nobody knew he was coming! He gave this really cool analogy about us being hunters and how sometimes we go out "hunting" and when we look we find people that only we can find. He showed a picture of his backyard with an elk hidden in the trees, not very many people were

I have the best district ever!

able to see the elk but I felt very proud of myself knowing where to look and finding! Thanks for that one boys! Anyway! I have truly never felt the spirit so strongly as when he was bearing his testimony! He said something along the lines that he was a witness of Christ and that he knows he lives, as well as that he is coming again! We sang the song I believe in Christ as the closing song and that is when I was able truly be overcome with the spirit. You know in the Alma chapters where people are so overcome with the spirit that they can't speak or they actually even lie dead. Well I now totally understand how that happens, not quite to that extent, but in the middle of the song the spirit was so strong that I just started crying and wasn't able to sing for a quick second. It was honestly amazing. Christ is alive and he is coming again. The Lord is hastening his work! That is so true! The past 2 weeks we have gotten over 800 missionaries! We are over 3000 strong in the PROVO MTC which does not include the other ones all over the World! How cool it that!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!

PS- Thanks for the letters and sweet treats! They make my week! 

Love you all!! Your're amazing 

Thank you Bailey! I love you!

-Sister DeCamp

Week 1

Soo turns out my PDay is on Wednesdays! Which is really nice because it's in the middle of the week! So we get Sunday to rejuvinate us and then we also get Wednesdays! What a blessing! 

So this week has been crazy and kind of a blur! But I'll try my best to explain all that happened! When we first got here we went inside and got our name tags and took our things to our room. From there we went straight into class which was kind of weird because nobody knows whats happening. In my class I met my companion who is probably the nicest girl on the planet! Her name is Sister Marchant. We are also paired with Sister Patera and Sister Zogg. Also both great girls! Sister Patera and I are really great friends because we both have a hard time going to sleep at night so we have had some really good chats until we both fall asleep. They are going to Carlsbad, California as well as 4 other Elders in our district. Then we have 4 more Elders who are going to Phoenix, Arizona. We all get along so great and its not awkward anymore! So thank goodness for that! 

On Thursday we were able to meet with our Branch President, President Briscoe. When we met him it was an instant feeling of love. WE ALL KNEW HE LOVED US. And his spirit was so strong! I was the only one that met with him that night. We were able to talk about why I was here and why I wanted to be here. It was a powerful meeting. You could have cut the spirit in that room with a knife! 

On Sunday he was released though and we were able to get a new Branch President, President Hayes. I haven't really got to meet him but his wife is adorable! And she makes us feel really loved and always gives the sisters hugs. Hugs are awesome here because you don't get very many.

Oh I was made a Sister Training Leader as well as the Senior Companion. I feel like they have a lot of faith in me. I mean we don't do much being the STL or SC in the MTC but its still cool and a great responsibility.

Today we were able to do a session in the temple and it was glorious! I missed it so much! I really hope that we are able to go at least once when we get to the field!

The food here is gross but theres not much anyone can do about that... just eat lots of salads! Haha mom thank you so much for the packages! They literally have come at the most perfect times! 

-Sister DeCamp